Generally a distinction is made in telecommunications between wired and wireless communication. In such cases wired communication terminals are either connected directly via a cable or remotely via a network to a central communication device, for example a communication system (frequently also referred to as a communication server or a switching system). With wireless communication on the other hand, data is transmitted between a wireless communication terminal and the central communication device via a base station which is connected via an air interface to the wireless communication terminal. The base station is as a rule linked to the central communication device via a separate fixed broadband link. Data is transferred between the wireless communication terminal and the base station over the air interface on the basis of known standards, such as DECT (digital Enhanced Wireless Telecommunications), GSM (Global system for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications system) or WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) for example.
A defined geographical area around a base station in which a wireless connection of predetermined quality is able to be established between a wireless communication terminal and a base station is frequently referred to in literature as the radio cell of this base station. To supply a larger geographical area with connection facilities a number of base stations are distributed over the geographical area for which coverage is to be provided so that their radio cells form a full-coverage radio network. A communication terminal registered in such a radio network can in this case switch between the base stations of this radio network located within its range in each case. The process by which a wireless communication terminal moves from coverage by a first base station to coverage by a second base station when a connection is in place is frequently referred to in the literature as a “handover”.
The disadvantage of the arrangement described is the high cost associated with creating this type of radio network consisting of a plurality of base stations.
Network conference terminals are described in US 2002/174254 which are implemented by notebooks and in which a network interface card is provided in each case. The network interface card is embodied for connection to a wireless LAN, with the network conference terminals being able to be configured with the aid of the network interface cards in a wireless LAN into a conference. In this case one of the network conference terminals is the host, which takes over the central control of the setting up of the Wireless LAN and subsequently controls the conference.
Sectored Bluetooth Access Points are known from US 2003/134596, which on the one hand communicate with an Ethernet and on the other hand with up to 7 “Bluetooth devices”. a Sectored Bluetooth Access Point is divided into four sectors, with a Bluetooth radio module being provided in each sector. Bluetooth terminals in the sector concerned communicate with the Ethernet, using the Bluetooth radio module and the Sectored Bluetooth Access Point